French patient turned symbol in euthanasia debate dies

Vincent Lambert, a French man who had been in a vegetative state for a decade and became a symbol in Frances debate on euthanasia, has died, his family told AFP Thursday.

“Vincent died at 8:24 this morning” in a hospital in the city of Reims, his nephew François Lambert said.

Lamberts doctors decided to stop artificial feeding last week after a yearslong legal battle over his case that pitted family members against each other.

Lambert, 42, was left in a vegetative state after a road accident in 2008. While his medical team deemed his condition irreversible and reached a consensus on ending life support — a decision backed by his spouse and other family members — his parents fought to keep him alive, saying his condition should not be considered the end of his life.

His parents, who exhausted all legal option to stop the procedure, filed a complaint for attempted homicide against his doctor last Friday,